How can Jonathan Kuminga afford to keep betting on himself?

Kuminga's agent cost him $18 million this season. Can the prospect make it up?

Good morning. Let's basketball.

Jonathan Kuminga signed with the Timberwolves for two years, $13 million last week. It has folks remembering all the way back to last autumn, when Kuminga was a restricted free agent and Kuminga was reportedly being offered three years and $75 million by the Warriors.

It's hard to remember since it was 14 twists in the Kuminga saga ago, but Kuminga's agent Aaron Turner sat down for a long recorded interview with a Warriors podcast/studio show (Dubs Talk with Dalton Johnson and Monte Poole) last September before Kuminga had signed a deal. In this clip, he explains why it's so important that Kuminga takes a shorter deal or gets a well-timed player option on a longer deal.

Basically, Turner argues that Kuminga might as well have taken his $8 million qualifying offer for 2025-26 than commit to the 3-year, $75 million with a team option on 2027-28. (So, $50 million for two years.) Why? Because Kuminga would be able to hit unrestricted free agency this summer (the summer now ending) and he would have had a de-facto no-trade clause. If the Warriors wanted to get Kuminga to commit for two guaranteed years and keep the team option on Year 3, they'd need to boost the annual salary, which for the Warriors would have required them to make additional moves to avoid the second apron, assuming that was a priority.